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Posie Ermine
"Posie" Ermine (real first name unrevealed, though it apparently began with a "P") was a racketeer who specialized in bootleg perfume. He had a wrinkled face and light hair. He typically wore dark glasses and a posie in his hat. Character Biography Posie was first seen (along with his daughter Glenna, aka Mindy) taking revenge on the executives at the Sunny Wheat breakfast cereal company who were in charge of the Moon Maid look-alike contest. Posie had bribed the men with $5,000 to declare Glenna the winner, but they awarded the prize to Sparkle Plenty instead. Posie went to the executives' offices and shot them dead. Then he dumped cereal over the two dead men. These murders attracted the attention of the police and Dick Tracy. Posie then resumed his bootleg perfume operation. It was later revealed that he was also involved in trafficking stolen guns as well. Tracy visited Posie's upscale apartment with Sparkle Plenty, who wanted to present a gift to Mindy as consolation for placing second in the contest. Posie and Mindy prepared to assault Tracy when he entered, but Tracy anticipated this and knocked the door into Mindy, breaking the perfume bottle she was holding. The fluid splattered onto Posie's face, temporarily blinding him. While Posie was occupied with washing his eyes, Tracy investigated the apartment. After Tracy and Sparkle left, Posie realized that his hat (which had a piece of evidence that could potentially implicate him) had fallen out the window. He and Mindy attempted to recover the hat from a hansom cab driver's horse, which resulted in the panicked horse running wild through the city and destroying the carriage. Posie's hat was found by Tracy, and Posie went into hiding. Mindy and Madame Parfum, Posie's accomplice, were arrested, but freed on bond by their attorney Habe Corpussle. Corpussle took the women to Posie's abandoned greenhouse, where Posie himself was hiding. Tracy and the police were monitoring the building. Tracy infiltrated the building under cover of darkness in an attempt to surprise the criminals. Posie was eventually captured by Tracy after accidentally falling into his own quicksand trap. The Return of Posie Years later, Posie was shown to be out of prison. He appeared at a poker game attended by Vic, an associate of Selfy Narcisse. He asked Selfy for information about Mysta, but it was not immediately clear if Posie was aware that his daughter had been altered with Lunarian DNA and had apparently lost her memory of her previous life (and him). Posie encountered Mysta at an intersection as they were both driving, and he rammed his car into hers (whether intentionally or accidentally is unclear). When she exited the vehicle, he confronted her, insisting that she was his daughter. Police arrived, but Posie was not taken into custody. It was indicated that he was on parole. Some time later, Posie was approached by the Moon Governor, who attempted to establish a connection between the two men. Together, Posie and Governor approached Mysta at her home in Diet Smith Industries. There, there were confronted by Sawtooth (an agent of Mr. Bribery) who intended to abduct Mysta. Posie pulled a gun to protect Mysta and shots were exchanged. Posie was killed and Mysta and the Moon Governor were taken to Bribery's compound. Posie's body was later found by police. Notes *"Ermine" is another name for the stoat, a type of large rodent that is prized for its fur. "Ermine" is also a type of fur used in heraldry that indicates very high status. *Dick Tracy makes some odd decisions during his investigation of Posie Ermine. First, Tracy immediately dismisses the idea that a woman could have been the person who killed the cereal company executives, despite finding the artificial flower and the perfumed gun at the crime scene. Later, during his visit to Posie's home, Tracy surreptitiously takes possession of what he believes to be evidence, despite the fact that he has no warrant and questionable probable cause. * Posie's death is not depicted in the strip. Readers are shown Posie drawing his gun and the next panel is a picture of the building's exterior with gunshot sound effects. Posie's death was not confirmed until several days later. Category:Villains Category:Deceased